Fixture Support for Membrane Roof

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for supporting one or more fixtures on a membrane roof has at least one bracket for interfacing with and securing the one or more fixtures, the at least one bracket coated on one side with a material compatible for heat welding to roofing membrane, a cut piece of roofing membrane having a length and width substantially greater than dimensions of the at least one bracket, wherein the at least one bracket is joined to the cut piece of membrane by heat welding and the piece of roofing membrane is then heat welded to the membrane roof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is in the field of construction and pertainsparticularly to methods and apparatus for supporting fixtures on amembrane roof.

2. Discussion of the State of the Art

In the field of construction, particularly roofing, membrane roofing asit is known in the art is becoming a staple for certain roof systemsthat formerly would be covered in asphalt and or roof tar. Membraneroofing panels are typically available in sheets or rolls that may becut to length and that may be secured to an unfinished roof surface, andheat welded together to form a unitary membrane.

Although there are a variety of membrane roofing materials available,more common compositions include Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), KetoneEthylene Ester (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethlene (CSPE), EthylenePropylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) and Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO).Membrane roofing sheets may be mechanically fastened through themembrane with a screw, pin type fastener or other mechanical meansun-finished roof with an overlapping edge of an adjacent sheet heatwelded over the fastened line to cover and seal the fastener. Membraneroofs can also be adhered using a variety of adhesives by applyingadhesive to the existing roof substrate, insulation, fire proof roofboard or unfinished roof substrate. The exposed seams of the membraneare then heat welded to create a solid membrane out of the panels orrolls. Heat welding the panels together involves a surface-to-surfaceheating and fusion of the interfacing surfaces of adjacent panels orsheets, requiring a certain minimum temperature.

Membrane panels or sheets may be custom fabricated and may be offered instandard sizes. The material resiliency including flexibility may bedesigned into the product through varying the percentage of certainmaterials in the composite such as different percentages of rubber addedto the composite.

Installing fixtures such as pipe brackets, solar panels, roof vents,air-conditioners, and other like accessories can be problematic after amembrane roof is installed, in that support structures designed to holdthe fixtures in place are conventionally nailed or otherwise fastened tothe roof over the membrane material, penetrating the membrane materialat each anchor point. Although the penetrations may be small,nonetheless, roofing mastic, caulking, sealants, or a similarsemi-viscous sealer is applied over the penetrations to seal themensuring a leak proof or watertight roof system.

It has occurred to the inventor that such penetrations, although minor,have a collective negative effect on the long-term viability of theroofing system in protection against leakage. For example roofingmastic, caulking, sealants, roof putty or other after-market sealers donot last as long as the membrane materials of the roof systems andtherefore periodic reapplication of such sealing products is oftenrequired to preserve the integrity of the system, or leaks are sure tooccur. Many roof manufacturers provide leak free warrantees that coverlabor and materials up to 30 years. Penetrations directly into the roofmembrane can in certain instances void these warrantees.

Therefore, what is clearly needed is an apparatus for supportingfixtures on a membrane roof that altogether eliminates the need forpenetrating the membrane roofing material.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the invention an apparatus for supporting one ormore fixtures on a membrane roof is provided, comprising at least onebracket for interfacing with and securing the one or more fixtures, theat least one bracket coated on one side with a material compatible forheat welding to roofing membrane, a cut piece of roofing membrane havinga length and width substantially greater than dimensions of the at leastone bracket, wherein the at least one bracket is joined to the cut pieceof membrane by heat welding and then the piece of roofing membrane isheat welded to the membrane roof.

In one embodiment the membrane roof covering and bracket coating isPolyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE), Chloro-SulfonatedPolyethylene (CSPE), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM),Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) or other membrane roofing material. Alsoin one embodiment the at least one bracket is fabricated of galvanizedsteel sheet metal pre-coated with material heat-weldable to the roofingmembrane. Also in one embodiment the cut piece of membrane is from thematerial used in the membrane roofing. Still in one embodiment the cutpiece of membrane is one of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Ketone EthyleneEster (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE), Ethylene PropyleneDiene Monomer (EPDM), Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) or other membraneroofing material.

In another aspect of the invention a method is provided for supportingone or more fixtures on a membrane roof, comprising steps of (a) forminga bracket to interface with and secure the one or more fixtures, the atleast one bracket coated on one side with a material compatible for heatwelding to roofing membrane, (b) cutting a piece of roofing membranehaving a length and width substantially greater than dimensions of theat least one bracket, (c) heat welding the bracket to the cut piece ofroofing membrane, leaving substantial overhanging projection of themembrane from the bracket; and (d) heat welding the membrane piece tothe roofing membrane.

In one embodiment of the method the membrane roof covering and bracketcoating is one of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE),Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer(EPDM), Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) or other membrane roofingmaterial. Also in one embodiment the at least one bracket is fabricatedof galvanized steel sheet metal pre-coated with material heat-weldableto the roofing membrane. Also in one embodiment the cut piece ofmembrane is from the material used in the membrane roofing. Still in oneembodiment the cut piece of membrane is Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), KetoneEthylene Ester (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethlene (CSPE), EthylenePropylene Diene Monomer (EPDM), Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) or othermembrane roofing material.

In yet another aspect of the invention a method is provided forreinforcing adhesion of membrane roofing for addition of fixtures to amembrane roof covering, the method comprising steps of (a) outlining ofone or more footprint areas at pre-planned fixture locations on anunfinished roof surface, (b) securely fastening one or more precutpieces of membrane to the unfinished roof at the pre-planned fixturelocations, and (c) laying down the membrane roof covering over theunfinished roof and securing it to the unfinished roof, and to thepre-cut pieces by heat welding.

In one embodiment the precut pieces of membrane are cut to sizeaccording to the footprint areas to be covered. In another embodimentthe membrane pieces are attached to the unfinished roof withconventional fasteners. In another embodiment the membrane roof coveringis one of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE),Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer(EPDM), Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) or other membrane roofingmaterial. And in another embodiment the method further comprises stepsfor heat welding brackets formed from sheet metal pre-coated withmaterial heat-weldable to roofing membrane to precut sheets of roofingmembrane having dimensions substantially greater than the brackets, thenheat welding the precut sheets joined to brackets to the roof membraneoverlying the footprint areas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overhead view of a membrane roof system supporting fixtureinstallation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fixture bracket with a membranecoating on an interfacing surface.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the bracket of FIG. 2 heat welded to apiece of membrane material at a first side.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the bracket of FIG. 2 heat welded to apiece of membrane material at a second side.

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the bracket of FIG. 2 welded as in FIG.3B having a wooden element held in the bracket.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fixture bracket with membrane coatingson two interfacing surfaces.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an array of the fixture brackets of FIG.4 heat welded to a piece of membrane material.

FIG. 6 is an expanded view of a vertically mounted conduit supportstructure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a process flow chart depicting steps for preparing a membraneroof system for fixture support or attachment according to aspects ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In various embodiments described in enabling detail herein, the inventorprovides a unique apparatus and methods for supporting fixtures andutilities on a membrane roof system. The present invention is describedusing the following examples, which may describe more than one relevantembodiment falling within the scope of the invention.

It will also be apparent to the skilled person that the arrangement ofelements and functionality for the invention is described in differentembodiments in which each is exemplary of an implementation of theinvention. These exemplary descriptions do not preclude otherimplementations and use cases not described in detail. The elements andfunctions may vary, as there are a variety of ways the hardware may beimplemented within the scope of the invention. The invention is limitedonly by the breadth of the claims below.

FIG. 1 is an overhead view of a membrane roof system 100 supportingfixture installation according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Roof system 100 may be formed of one of Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC), Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene(CSPE), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) or ThermoplasticPolyOlefin (TPO) without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention, or any other membrane material known in the art. Roofsystem 100 is laid over an unfinished roof surface using precut flexibleroofing sheets 101.

The term membrane roughly refers to a flexible resilient roof made witha mixture of rubber and thermoplastic polymers. Such materials may beheat welded together to fuse the roofing sheets together presenting aleak proof covering. An important material in membrane roofing isthermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) in this example, however the presentinvention does not strictly depend on TPO for successful application.Therefore, other flexible or membrane type roofing materials may also beconsidered for heat weld such as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), KetoneEthylene Ester (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE), or EthylenePropylene Diene Monomer (EPDM).

Roofing sheets 101 are rolled out lengthwise and fastened (one edge) tothe roof surface with subsequent sheets laid over the previous sheets tocover the fastening lines. The overlapping area of a sheet of membraneis heat welded over the fastening line (102) on the previous sheetinstalled to ensure watertight seal. In this example roof system 100 hasa horizontal surface (floor) and four vertical surfaces (walls).Typically, wall or vertical covering is performed with the same materialas the horizontal covering and wall sheets have adjacent edgesoverlapping and heat welded over the fastening lines of the edge panelsor sheets on the horizontal surface or floor of the roof.

Roof system 100 in this example includes a number of fixtures that areinstalled and supported on both the horizontal roof surface and on atleast two of the vertical surfaces. It is noted that a roof constructionthat may accept a membrane roof system may incorporate hips and valleys,sloped surfaces and non-flat surfaces, and other features withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Theapparatus may support fixtures installed on any of the surfaces of theroof.

In this example a fixture 107 is depicted on the horizontal roof surfaceafter finishing (covering). Fixture 107 may be a heating/airconditioning unit for example. A fixture 106 is also depicted on thehorizontal roof surface. Fixture 106 might be a solar system forproviding electricity or for heating a pool, etc. A fixture 109 isdepicted herein as a vent or flue. A fixture 108 is depicted as mountedon a vertical roof surface and might represent a fire extinguisher, analarm, or some other utility. The opposing vertical roof surfacesupports fixture 118. Fixture 118 may be conduit, plumbing, cabling,etc. There are a great variety of such fixtures that may be necessary ona roof.

The fixtures in this example are held in place by one or more brackets.Brackets may be manufactured of galvanized steel (sheet metal) or otherdurable metals or suitable materials. Such brackets may be custom builtfor the type of fixture being mounted. In one example a supportapparatus includes more than one bracket.

It may be desired to determine and mark areas on the roof where fixtureswill be installed before laying out the membrane roofing materials overthe unfinished roof. In this case it may be desired to provide extrasupport for some fixtures that are particularly heavy or may need extrasupport, such as on a vertical or sloped roof surface. In one embodimentsuch areas are marked and one or more pieces of roofing material are cutand fastened to the unfinished roof to provide underlying enhancement ofadhesion to a roof before laying out the roofing sheets 101.

In this example a cut piece of roofing membrane material 119 is providedand stapled or otherwise secured directly to unfinished roof beneathwhere an A/C system (107) will later be installed. Sheets 101 are heatwelded (overlapping bottom surfaces) to support piece 119 (top surface)as the membrane roof is installed. Locations 116 are locations forunique bracket assemblies that are fastened to the membrane roof asdescribed in more detail below.

In this example there is another fixture 106 depicted as supported onroof system 100. Fixture 106 may be a solar power panel used to provideextra electricity or for heating pool water for example. Underneathroofing sheets 101 there is a cut piece of support membrane 114. Asdiscussed above, this piece is directly attached to the unfinished roofwith screw fastener or other fastening techniques in a marked location.Roofing sheets 101 are heat welded over the support pad (114) andoverlapping areas of the sheets are heat welded together. Screw fastenermay not be used in areas where the roofing sheet overlays a precut pieceof membrane used as a base or pad. Instead the sheeting may be heatwelded to the support piece so there are no penetrations to the exposedmaterials. Areas 115 are positions for unique brackets described belowin another embodiment of the invention.

Fixture 106 has a conduit or pipe 118 connected to it. This conduitrepresents a water pipe, electrical conduit, or any other requiredtethering for successful operation of the fixture. Conduit 118 issupported partly on a vertical side of roofing system 100. In this casepre-assembled pieces 121 and 111 are attached to the unfinished roofsurface as previously described. Then roofing sheets (vertical 104) areoverlaid and heat welded to pieces 121 and 111. Bracket supportingstrips 110 represent precut membrane strips that may host an array ofbrackets heat welded at strategic locations along the strip, asdescribed in further detail below. In this case brackets 112 arevertically mounted conduit hangars of the appropriate dimension tosupport the diameter of the supported conduit 118.

Fixture 108 is also vertically mounted, the apparatus including fixture108 installed on brackets 117 that are heat welded to membrane supportpiece 120. In this case there is no underlying support piece attached tothe roof surface. Strip 117 with brackets 117 previously heat welded onto it is subsequently heat welded to the finished roof membrane surfaceafter the roof is covered. In this case the fixture may be installedanywhere, as there was no pre-determined location on the unfinished roofmarked to denote a location for the fixture. Similarly, vent fixture 109may be coated on an interfacing flange and then heat welded to a supportring that is then heat welded to the top surface of the finished roof.If additional support is needed another support piece may be stapled orotherwise attached to the unfinished roof at the location or the vent.The overlying material is then heat welded to the support piece whilethe flange piece welded to the top support piece is then welded to thefinished surface.

In this way all of the fixtures that need to be installed on a membraneroofing system may be secured without leaving any penetrations throughthe finished membrane roof. The exact cut sizes of support pieces andwhether additional support pieces (underlying and surface) are requireddepend upon the fixture type, location of the fixture (horizontally orvertically mounted), the weight of the fixture, and the composition ofthe membrane materials used as support pieces. The mixture of thecomposite relative to the percentages of rubber, plastic, binders, andother materials may contribute to less or more resiliency andflexibility of the roofing material. For larger fixtures like utilitiesthat have more weight, additional support membrane pieces may beprovided and fixture location on the roof may be pre-designed. Forlightweight fixtures such as conduit fixtures, light fixtures, etc.,only a single support membrane piece might be required. In this case thefixture brackets are heat welded to the support piece, which is in turnheat welded over the finished roof surface.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fixture bracket 200 with aheat-weldable coating on an interfacing surface. Bracket 200 may be astandard sheet metal bracket such as a galvanized steel bracket shearedand bent to design for the type of fixture to be held in place. In thisexample, bracket 200 is a U-shaped bracket having a side 201, a side202, and a side 203, and sized to fit standard 4×4 lumber. Otherbrackets may be made for other standard sizes of lumber, or other piecesof support structure. The thickness of bracket 200 might vary, howeverone sixteenth of an inch to one eight of an inch may be sufficientthickness for such brackets.

Bracket 200 has a coating 204 covering an outside surface of wall 203.An interfacing surface refers to the surface that will interface and beheat welded to a support piece of roof material. It is important to notethat the requirement of heat welding is that the coating is thick enoughto be heat welded to the surface of the support piece wherein thematerials fuse to form a contiguous bond. Coating 204 may be relativelythin compared to the thickness of a support piece of roof material. Theexact thickness of the bracket coating may vary depending upon thethickness of the roofing material. Also, it is noted that the twomaterials (sheeting) and (coating) must be compatible for a contiguousheat weld application. In one embodiment both the coating and theroofing material is thermoplastic olefin (TPO). In embodiments of theinvention brackets are formed from commercially-available galvanizedsheets already coated on one side with TPO or one of the otherformulations mentioned above, depending on the formulation of themembrane used for the roof on which the brackets may be attached.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of bracket 200 of FIG. 2 heat welded to apiece of membrane material 301. Support piece 301 may be precut fromroofing sheet material. In this configuration there is only a singlebracket welded to a precut piece of roofing material. In otherembodiments there may be an array of brackets heat welded to a singlepiece of membrane material. The length A and width B of piece 301 mayvary according to fixture and bracket number requirements. Bracket 200is shown heat welded to membrane piece 301 along side 203, but may aswell be heat welded along side 201, facing open upward to receive a 4×4beam, as shown in FIG. 3B. FIG. 3C illustrates the bracket welded as inFIG. 3B and having a wooden element 303 in place.

One piece of membrane material may support more than one and differenttypes of brackets in a same assembly. The thickness C of piece 301 maybe the same as or different from the thickness of the roofing membranesheeting without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.In a typical application support pieces may be cut from the same roofingmaterials used to cover the roof. Also, the length A and width B ofpiece 301 are sufficiently greater that the footprint of the bracket toallow for a lifting edges to be able to heat the underside of piece 301and the membrane roofing to which it is being heat welded.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fixture bracket 400, which is a lowprofile bracket that designed for holding a rail that may be slid inunderneath two or more brackets in an array. Such rails are, forexample, support for solar panels in some circumstances. Brackets 400are in those example made from pre-treated galvanized sheets asdescribed above. In this example, bracket 400 has two parallel tabs orwings (401, 402) lying in the same plane and a raised middle section403. Bracket 400 with a number of similar brackets may be heat welded inan array to a long piece of membrane material, as shown, that may thenbe heat welded to the finished roof covering as depicted in FIG. 5 ofthis specification.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an assembly 500 hosting an array offixture brackets 400 heat welded to one long piece of membrane material501. Assembly 500 comprises an array of low profile brackets 400heat-welded in an array to membrane material 501. In this configuration,the brackets are designed to enclose a rail foot (not illustrated) of asolar panel apparatus or other roof top equipment. Sufficient membranematerial 501 is used such that the assembly is flexible, and may bemanipulated to efficiently heat weld to a membrane roof.

Support piece 501 may be cut from the roofing sheet and may be longerand considerably wider than the profile of the bracket array to allowfor more heat weld surface. In an implementation such as this one, auser may slip a rail underneath the heat-welded brackets and then boltthe utility to the rail. There can be more than one of these supportpieces, such as for a utility having two or more rails for example.Brackets may be provided in various differing configurations withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In general implementation where more than one support piece of membranematerial may be used, an installer may outline one or more footprintareas on an unfinished roof surface where fixtures are to be installedon the finished roof. The demarcations may be part of a drawing orblueprint with dimensions so they may again be located after the roofingmaterial is laid out. At the outlined locations, the installer mayfasten, such as by roof stapling, one or more than one precut membranepieces to the unfinished roof prior to laying out the strips or rolls ofmembrane to form the membrane roof. The installer may then position andsecure the roofing sheets over the unfinished roof and the added supportpieces. The installer may use fasteners and heat welding to secure themembrane roof system over the unfinished roof.

It may be assumed that in one implementation the fixture brackets areformed from commercially-available metal sheets pre-coated with themembrane material. The installer may arrange the brackets and heat weldthem to additional precut pieces of membrane. These support pieces maybe heat welded to the finished roof at demarked support locations whereunderlying support pieces exist or at any location desired if anunderlying support is not required for the type of and weight of thefixture. The installer then fastens the fixtures to the brackets.

Reasons for adding underlying support may vary according to the angle ofroof surface and the type and weight of the supported fixture orutility. For example, something heavy on a horizontal surface orvertical surface may need extra support. Very lightweight fixtures suchas conduit hangars for example might be installed anywhere on thefinished roof as needed. In one implementation certain lightweightfixtures may be packaged with brackets already heat welded to cutmembrane pieces that are compatible with (can be heat welded to) thestandard roofing materials. In this case users may add aftermarketfixtures to upgrade lighting or other features on the roof. The heatwelding process itself is known in the art and available for use infusing the materials together in a secure and leak proof fashion.

FIG. 6 is an expanded view of a vertically mountable conduit supportstructure 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention.Structure 600 has a number of conduit support hangars (brackets) 603that are designed to hold conduit on a vertical surface. Brackets 603are formed, as described before, from commercially-available metal sheetpre-coated with compatible membrane material. Several brackets 603 aredepicted as heat welded to a piece of precut membrane material 602.

The support apparatus (brackets heat welded to material) is heat weldedto a finished vertical roof surface. Piece 602 may be as long as isrequired to span the length of the conduit to be mounted on the roofsurface. In some implementation such as one depicted in the illustrationof FIG. 1, two or more standard length support pieces (each hostingseveral conduit hangars) might be used collectively to hang the conduit.Many other fixture types may be installed to the finished membrane roofusing the method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a process flow chart 700 depicting steps for preparing amembrane roof system according to aspects of the present invention. Inact 701 requirements are identified before roofing is applied to anunfinished roof. In this step the types of fixtures are identified andwhether they need to be installed in certain areas on the roof, etc.

At step 702 it is determined if there are any pre-finish requirementsrelative to any of the fixtures identified in step 701. If there arepre-finish requirements at step 701 then the installer may precut piecesof the membrane sheeting material as required in step 703 to make theunderlying membrane support areas. Any underlying pieces may be stapledor otherwise fastened to the unfinished roof at step 704. Underlyingmembrane support pieces may be installed on any angle of surface fromhorizontal to vertical.

If it is determined that there are no pre-finish requirements at step702, the process may skip over to step 705 where the roof installationtakes place. Likewise, conventional fasteners may be used to fasten oneside of a roof sheet to the roof. Adjacent roofing sheets or panels areheat welded to the installed panels so only one side of a roofing sheethas to be fastened to the unfinished roof. An unfastened edge of amembrane roofing sheet is heat welded over a fastened edge of thepreviously installed sheet. The opposite edge of the heat-welded sheetmay then be fastened to the unfinished roof.

At step 706 it is determined if there were support pieces attached tothe roof as per step 704. If it is determined that there are pre-finishmembrane support pieces on the roof the installer heat welds the roofingsheets to those support pieces wherever they occur in step 707. Fromeither step 707 or step 706 in case of “no”, it is determined whetherthere are any post-finish requirements (fixtures not requiringpre-finish support pieces) for attaching fixtures.

If it is determined that there are no post-finish requirements at step708, then the process may end at step 711. If it is determined thatthere are post-finish requirements at step 708 the installer may lay outprecut support pieces with the appropriate brackets heat-welded to thosepieces at step 709. It may be assumed that the brackets are alreadyheat-welded to the precut membrane pieces in the correct orientation tomount or otherwise connect the fixtures to the brackets. If this is notthe case, additional steps for orientating the brackets and heat weldingthem to the pre-cut membrane support pieces may be required. For piecescontaining multiple brackets, jigs or fixtures might be provided to helporientate those brackets for heat welding.

At step 710 the installer heat-welds the support pieces with thebrackets attached to the finished roof at the pre-planned or desiredlocations. Fixture attachment to the brackets may also be performed atstep 711 after the support pieces are finished and attached to thefinished roof. The process may then end at step 712.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the system of theinvention may be provided using some or all of the mentioned featuresand components without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. It will also be apparent to the skilled artisan thatthe embodiments described above are specific examples of a singlebroader invention that may have greater scope than any of the singulardescriptions taught. There may be many alterations made in thedescriptions without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

1. An apparatus for supporting one or more fixtures on a membrane roofcomprising: a metal bracket interfacing with and securing the one ormore fixtures, the metal bracket coated on one surface with a materialcompatible for heat welding to roofing membrane; and a piece of membraneseparate from the membrane roof, exhibiting unbroken upper and lowersurfaces with no notch or other opening through the surfaces, themembrane having a length and width substantially greater than dimensionsof the at least one bracket; wherein the at least one bracket is joinedto the piece of membrane separate from the membrane roof by heat weldingthe one surface of the bracket coated with a material compatible withheat welding to the upper surface of the piece of membrane separate fromthe membrane roof, and the unbroken, downward-facing opposite surface ofthe separate piece of membrane is then heat welded to the membrane roof.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the membrane roof covering andbracket coating is one of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Ketone EthyleneEster (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE), Ethylene PropyleneDiene Monomer (EPDM) or Thermoplastic PolyOlefin (TPO) or other membraneroofing material.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the metal bracketis fabricated of galvanized steel sheet metal pre-coated on at least onesurface with material heat-weldable to the roofing membrane.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the separate piece of membrane is from thematerial used in the membrane roofing.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the separate piece of membrane is one of Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC), Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE), Chloro-Sulfonated Polyethylene(CSPE), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM), ThermoplasticPolyOlefin (TPO) or other membrane roofing material. 6-15. (canceled)